


We’re bound together, land and sea

by alexandradanvers



Category: Aquaman (2018), DCEU, DCU
Genre: F/M, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-20 19:12:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17628041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexandradanvers/pseuds/alexandradanvers
Summary: The Land and The Sea: Two separate worlds. A destined king. A young princess. Bound by a soulbond.“And when the tides seem to be ripping us apart, when our fingertips can barely brush together, I’ll love you then.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! The quote above is not mine, just like all the characters are not mine. Only the story is mine.  
> Updates Saturday morning, at 8:30 am (EST TIME).  
> Happy reading!

Her parents were soulmates, destined to be with one another. Their other half. Mera grew up learning about soulmates, about how they would get identical scars and bruises when the other got hurt, which would never fade away. These were soulmarkings. Her mother and father told her stories every night of their own. And lastly, they told her that when she was 15, her soulbond  would open and she would be connected to him, by emotions, feelings and thoughts. 

 

The young princess was excited and intrigued to learn more about her soulmate, as were all the other children, Atlantean or not, so she waited everyday, checking if she had an extra scar, bruise or mark that wasn’t there before in await of her other half.

 

It was not until she was 7, she first got her real soulmate mark. A scratch on her right knee had appeared when she was playing hide and seek with Prince Orm. 

 

Her parents were here on a official meeting, a scheduled conference to discuss the alliance of the two kingdoms. This left her with the whole day to play with Orm, as the two had grown up together - the kingdoms Atlantis and Xebel had worked closely together in the recent years to form a joint alliance. 

 

She was in the observatory, looking for potential places to hide. It was Orm’s turn to seek. For a second she was confused - she hadn’t hit anything while swimming in. It had sent a jolt of pain through her leg, searing itself into her skin as she came to a realisation that the scars wasn’t from her, but her soulmate. She let out a cry from the pain; she hadn’t felt anything like that before. Her lip quivered as the tears threatened to flow, but she pushed it back down, knowing it was a good thing her first soulmate mark appeared. She’d been looking forward to it. 

 

She inspected the scratch, lightly using her fingers to trace and follow the line. It wasn’t too deep, but it was jagged, which she thought that he had most likely got from falling onto rocks. The thought of someone falling in the vast ocean scared her.  _ What if they were in trouble?  _ It was shaped like lightning, one that ran from the top to the bottom of her kneecap and it stood out from her pale skin. 

 

At that moment, an Atlantean guard came running in, helping the young princess get up from the position she was curled in. It had hurt so much more than she expected, though she was excited to finally get a clue of who her soulmate was. It bled a little, though the blood merged with the water and disappeared in a current. 

 

“Are you alright, princess? Do you want me to notify the King and Queen?”

 

She nodded. “I’m fine. There’s no need. I wouldn’t want them to worry anyway.”He took a piece of emergency kelp from the side pocket of his uniform, wrapping around her leg, tying a knot to secure it. 

 

“Is this alright?” He asked, tightening it around the mark. “There you go.” He gave her another look, worried about the king’s daughter. 

 

“Really, I’m fine. Thank you.”

 

“Princess Mera, the Prince has hurt himself during the game as well, and has requested your presence. He’s in his chambers resting.” 

 

“I’ll make my way there now.” She brushed herself off, as he helped her stand up. The Atlantean guard watched her as they made their way to the doorway, making sure she could swim properly. Her heart sped up, slamming in her chest, a rapid thumping drumming against her ribcage. The pain subsided, though when she leaned toward the right side, it would shoot through her leg. She ventured on however, determined to not show how much it hurt. 

 

_ Orm could be my soulmate, _ she thought. 

 

He was her best friend and she’d rather have him no other way. Their parents would occasionally joke about them being betrothed in the future in the royal dinners, merging the two kingdoms to create a more powerful Atlantis. If they were soulmates - Mera didn’t really think so - she hoped it wouldn’t be awkward; she love their friendship, all their days learning about archeological sites, hunched over scrolls, playing in the palaces. She wouldn’t trade that time for anything else. 

 

The guard accompanied her to Orm’s chambers, bowed slightly, and left to do his rounds. 

 

“Orm?” She knocked on his dark blue door. She could hear him shuffling inside. 

A faint reply came from the room, “Come in,” he called. 

 

He was resting on his bed, his right leg propped up on a chair, and a piece of kelp tied around the kneecap. Mera could see the fire dancing in his grey eyes, when she watched his eyes immediately travel to the a bandage identically wrapped around her leg. He was 9, and he knew that if she had a mark too, they could potentially be soulmates. In his eyes, they were best friends and soulmates. All he knew was that if they were soulmates and destined to be together, they’d stay together forever.

 

“Are you okay?” she asked, nearing his bed. 

 

He nodded. “I hope my soulmate isn’t too mad that I slipped while going down the stairs. They’d have this scar to deal with,”

 

She laughed. “They’d be happy that they’d have a mark.” She clambered up onto his bed, sitting next to him. 

 

“Wanna play a game?” asked Orm. 

 

She nodded. “Creature hunt?” she suggested. 

 

“Okay. I’ll start then.” Orm looked up to the glass ceiling of his bedroom. He reached up, finger pointing to one of the creatures that was circling above. 

 

“ _ Manta birostris,” _ He smiled. It was his one of his favourite sea creatures. He turned to focus on the young princess. “Your turn.”

 

“Aurelias!” She pointed to a cluster of jellyfish dancing together, bopping along the ocean current. 

 

“That’s right Mera.“ He patted her on the head. “Seahorses, Mera. Look!” 

 

Time passed quickly while they were playing together, though both Mera and Orm’s thoughts were partially on their soulmate marks. After naming hundreds of animals later, they noticed that the sun dropped below the horizon, spreading a warm fiery glow that lit up the ocean nicely. Most of the animals were making their way back to their own habitats, the silhouette of the creatures gliding through the ocean layers. This meant that it was time to go. 

 

They made their way out to the kingdom’s main entrance, meeting their parents on the steps up to the palace. The parent’s exchanged a few words, while guards stood at attention next to the royals. 

 

Lastly, it was time for the kids to say goodbye.

 

“Bye Mera. See you soon.” Prince Orm held onto his mother’s hand, his ash blonde hair floating behind him. 

 

“Bye Orm. I had a great day.” She mumbled, though Orm could still hear her clearly. Half of her was hidden behind her mother, still shy around the King and Queen of Atlantis. “See you.”

 

Orm watched as the princess leave with her family, heading back into their own underwater chariot pulled by seahorses. 

 

That night, Mera lit a jellyfish lantern in her room, pushing her scrolls and homework away to the side of her desk. The moon shone through into her temporary room, but the silvery light wasn’t enough to write under. She fished around for her soulmate journal, one that her mother had given her. Her hands reached to the back of her drawer, fingers stretching to grab ahold of the fish-scale book. The delicate scales of the cover lightly scratched her fingers, and in one smooth movement she pulled it out from where she had hidden it years ago. She finally had the chance to use it and she was saving it for when she got her first soulmate mark. 

 

She brushed off the moss that had been growing atop it, letting it float to the ground. She opened the journal and lifted her pen, beginning to note down everything about her soulmate. 

 

_ This is my first entry in my soulmate journal. I wonder who he is. Does he live in Atlantis or in Xebel? When will I see him? Well, the big news is that I got my first soulmate mark on my right knee today, while playing hide and seek with Orm in the observatory. It’s jagged and lightning shaped, it’s turning pale brown and it hurts to touch. When it first emerged in my skin, it hurt so much that it felt as if I had been on the receiving end of the trident, which I hope I never will be. Mother says it hurts less for my soulmate, so I hope he’s okay and it didn’t hurt too much for him. I hope he doesn’t get any more scratches, and hopefully he isn’t too clumsy. I wonder when I’ll see him soon. Hopefully, sooner than later.   _

 

_ Goodnight, Mera. _

 

“Mera, bedtime!” She heard her parents come down the hall to tuck her in bed. 

 

The king and queen of Xebel were making their way to her room to make sure she made it to bed, as they did every day. She shut her book, carefully placing it in the back of her drawer. A knock echoed throughout her room, and her parents appeared at the doorway. “Princess, it’s time to sleep.” Her father said, catching a glance of the journal as she was just shutting the drawer. “Is that your soulmate journal?”

 

She nodded in response. She timidly lifted up her pj nightgown, showing her parents the jagged scar. “Mommy, Daddy! My first soulmate mark. I hope he isn’t too clumsy. Or else I’ll be getting a lot of scars,” she joked. “I got it while playing hide and seek with Orm today.”

 

“Yes, we hope he isn’t too clumsy. It was a big day for you today, and I know you’re excited, but bedtime!” ushered her mother, guiding her to bed. 

 

Her mother switched her attention to the king, purposely directing her voice away from her daughter. “Nereus, you know that the young prince also got his first scar today. Exactly there too.”

 

Her father switched off her jellyfish lantern, shaking the thoughts away. He wasn’t so sure about his daughter marrying off to the young prince of Atlantis. It would mean that the two kingdoms would need a lifelong joint alliance, which Xebel wasn’t ready for. “You can’t be sure about that. Anything could happen really.”

 

Her mother lowered her voice as the princess slipped under the covers, tucking her under the covers. Her voice was hushed and quiet, and the princess leaned in closer to her clearly.

 

The queen lifted her sleeve so it reached her elbow. A patch was on the inside of her elbow, matching the shade of Mera’s own soulmate mark. She gave her daughter a soft smile. “This mark is from when daddy tripped and scratched some coral. He was clumsy too.”

 

Mera giggled, looking at the king, who suddenly showed a lot of interest toward her closet. 

 

“Remember, my Mera, keep your marks safe, and remember to love them all, then, you’ll know who your soulmate is as soon as you see them.” 

 

She nodded, softly smiling as her mother. “Goodnight mother, goodnight father.”

 

“Goodnight Princess Mera. Remember, you have school tomorrow. Don’t stay up too late.” Her parents slipped out of her door, and she could hear them saying goodnight to the guards. 

 

Her mind was clouded with thoughts of who her soulmate potentially was.  _ Orm?  _ She sat up again, pulling her knees up to her chest, fingers craving the need to touch it again. She lightly ran her fingers atop the scar. It brought her closer to her soulmate, in a way, that she knew that someone out there had the exact same scar. And that that person would be hers, and they would rule Xebel together once she became Queen. 

 

“Goodnight soulmate.” She whispered, head turned to face the vast ocean, before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter for this week! Hope you enjoy it :)

Far from the kingdom of Atlantis, on the coast of Amnesty Bay, a young boy with a head of unruly brown hair slept underneath the bright light of a lighthouse. The sea roared in the night, waves tossed up against the shore, making the rocks glisten in the moonlight. Arthur was dreaming of the day his mother had left. He watched through his infant self, vision blurring as his mother kissed him on the head. Her mouth was moving, though he couldn’t hear what she said. Soon the moon had left and the sun took its place, and the waves had died down, reflecting the relaxed breaths of the true king of Atlantis. 

 

“Happy birthday Arthur!” 

 

Now 10 years old, Arthur Curry was no one special. He had no place in the world. Compared to the rest of the boys in his class, he was especially short, and his brown, unruly head of hair made him a target for the older boys, so birthdays were celebrated and spent at home with his father and not at school like the rest of the kids did. Though he was lucky this time, his birthday fell on a Saturday and not a weekday, which meant, no bullies for his birthday, for once. 

 

His father told him of soulmates, though he didn’t believe that he deserved one. Everyone else at school already had their first soulmate mark, a spot here or there, or a patch on the arm. On top of his height (or lack thereof) and hair, the older kids bullied him for not having a mark, and they’d call him freak and anomaly behind his back.

 

He knew he was an anomaly- a freak perhaps- not only because of his lack of marks, but because his mother was the queen of the sea. A queen of a “lost” kingdom, a ruler that had the power to control the ocean. When he was first told of this by his father and Vulko, he was only eight- confirming his fears of being a freak- he didn’t want to be Atlantean. He didn’t want any part of the royal lineage. He didn’t want to be any more different than he was already. Those nights were spent tossing and turning in his bed, crying and wishing - why couldn’t he just be normal? He resisted the temptation to even look at the sea, though it called out to him. 

 

Through lots of consoling and talking and finally, training, which really was what convinced him, he accepted the fact he was Atlantean. Even with this new knowledge, Arthur would wonder why he didn’t have one mark yet, and sometimes he wondered if his lack of marks meant he never had a soulmate. It was rare to not have a soulmate, though the ones that didn’t have marks usually found a soulmate in another person that didn’t have marks as well. But with his connection to the sea and the kingdom underneath, he couldn’t help but wonder, did his soulmate live in Atlantis?

  
His father had told that it his lack of soulmate marks at the age of 10 meant that his soulmate was young. “They typically start appearing when a person is 6, but there are special cases. Be patient son. Be patient. Your’s just might be in Atlantis, just like mine, son.” He had said with a twinkle in his eye. 

 

Arthur rubbed his eyes, adjusting to the sunlight streaming into his bedroom window. He pulled his blanket up and above his head, unused to the brightness. “Dad…” He whined. 

 

“Come on son, get up now. It’s your birthday.” Tom Curry patted the lump underneath the blanket. “We’re going to the beach today, how’s that sound?”

 

The ten year old shuffled a bit underneath the covers. “Is Vulko coming?” His muffled voice travelled from underneath. Vulko had promised that he would teach the young boy a new skill once he had turned 10. 

 

His dad laughed. Of course all his son cared about was training. “Vulko will be there, son. But he’ll come later, once most of the public has left. Come on,” He sighed, pulling the covers away, reaching for his son, determined to tickle his son awake. Arthur’s laugh filled the house, and soon, the pair were sitting down at the breakfast table, enjoying a filling meal of bacon and eggs. 

 

Once they had put on their swimsuits and packed up all the other beach things Arthur wanted to bring along, Tom Curry started the engine of his pickup and they drove along the seaside. Arthur leaned out the window, watching the rhythmic pulses of the ocean. It calmed him like it usually did. Not far off in the horizon he spotted a gush of water erupt from the surface. It shot straight up like a geyser would, and he giggled. With his marine telepathy ability, he found that it was a whale that he had talked to a few months ago.

 

The beach was surprisingly crowded for the spring day. The Currys parked the car, and headed towards the sand. There were a rather large amount of families on the beach, more than there were usually. Umbrellas were propped up and towels were strewn across the sand.

 

Arthur immediately recognized a few kids from his class, and instinctively he hid behind his dad, keeping himself out of their view. Tom knew his son liked the quieter side of the beach, so they walked across the hot sand, the little granules sticking themselves between Arthur’s toes. Soon they had reached the point where they usually set up their stuff at, and Tom Curry encouraged his son to go play in the water as he himself laid underneath the rock, keeping away from the sun.  He preferred to not enter the water; it brought back too many painful memories, knowing that the love of his life, his soulmate, was somewhere in the vast blue sea. His father knew his son was at home at the ocean, taking after his mother. 

 

“Son, come back in 2 hours.” He said, not wanting his son to wander off too far. 

 

Arthur took longer than usual to warm up to the water, scared to be seen by one of his classmates. He kept out of the view, exploring his own little area of the beach. But soon, he was diving and splashing, racing and swimming with the ocean life. 

 

A friendly dolphin swam up to him, nudging him with its rostrum. “Hey!” exclaimed Arthur, as he turned around. Using his abilities, he challenged the dolphin for a race.  He hadn’t had a good one in a long time. The turquoise dolphin clicked in response, and the pair were racing under and over coral formations, bubbles trailing behind them. Fish ducked back into tufts of seaweed as the pair raced by.

 

Up ahead in their path was a large rock formation, that rose up through the surface which was partially exposed. Coral and other sea life had made there home there, and at the center was a rock bridge in which Arthur told the dolphin, they could pass through underneath it, as it would be the finish line for the race. 

 

He straightened his arms, keeping them at his side. Remembering what Vulko taught him. Holding his head higher, and pointing his feet, he inched closer and closer to the finish line. 

 

The dolphin clicked next to him, flapping its fin and pointing its nose. They were head to head, leaving a trail of bubbles as they shot for the final line. 

 

_ Almost there!  _ He thought. From a distance the makeshift finish line seemed like a wide open, though as he  neared it he found that the gap was barely big enough for him and the dolphin to squeeze through together. 

 

He barely pushed through in front of the dolphin, though he didn’t notice a chunk of rock that was sticking out. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, he turned around, stopping ahead of the dolphin. The dolphin clicked at him, rubbing it’s fin on his leg, before splashing away. 

 

As he sped off towards the shore again, his long hair trailed against the current. His knee was bleeding, though he didn’t notice it as the adrenaline of the race continued to pumped through him. As he raced back, against himself, commanding the sea to push him even further forward. 

 

“Dad! Dad!” Arthur ran up to Tom, ignoring the sand sticking onto his feet. “I raced a dolphin!”

 

“That’s great son.” Smiling, eyes still closed as he was sunbathing. He imagined his son racing and playing along with a dolphin, laughing along to the image. “Lunchtime?” He asked, sitting up, only to notice the stream of blood trickling down his son’s leg. Arthur nodded. “Arthur! Come here. What happened?”

 

Sitting down next to his pops, he propped his leg up as Tom looked through their bag for the emergency bag. Luckily, it didn’t bleed for long, as his Atlantean structure reduced the time it took for the injury to heal. Tom wrapped a few pieces of bandage around his son’s knee, ensuring that it was comfortable enough for his son to move around.    
  


They then had lunch, both chewing on a delicious homemade sandwich. Arthur ran back to the water’s edge, wincing in pain as he shifted more of his weight onto his left leg. 

 

That night, when the Currys got back to the lighthouse, Tom was set on rewrapping Arthur’s knee again as the first bandage had gotten bloody. Unwrapping the last layer of gauze tape, he found that the scar had partially healed and what was left was a lightning shaped scar.

 

“Dad? Does this count as a soulmate scar?” Arthur asked, while his father was putting him to bed. Tom nodded. It wouldn’t be coloured such a dark shade if it weren’t. “Really?” He was unsure about his mark, still, though he had looked forward to it. 

 

“Yes, son. Come here, I have something to show you.” He sat up from Arthur’s bed, reaching for a picture frame on the left side of his drawers. It was a picture of Arthur’s mother and father, smiling as they stuck their elbows out, both bearing the same scar. He pulled his sleeves up, jutting out his elbow to show his son. “What I liked to do, was to put in a little diary entry of the marks. So you have a record of them.” He left for a moment, coming back with a leather bound book with frayed pages in it. “This was mine, and now, since you have your first mark, this will now be yours.”

 

Arthur took the book in his hands, caressing the pages and gently flipping through the delicate entries. 

 

“Write a little something in it, son. Then you can keep your memories forever.” Tom got up from his spot, giving Arthur a goodnight’s kiss. “Happy Birthday, son.”

 

“Goodnight, Dad.”

 

The destined king took a pen that he kept at his bedside table, running his hands over the previous entries. He flipped to a new page, pen in hand. 

 

_ Well, hi there soulmate. Hopefully my new lightning shaped scar is a soulmate mark. Maybe you’re in Atlantis? Or on land. Either way, I hope to meet you soon. Please be careful, I don’t know what it’s like to have soulmate marks from another person, though I hope your marks give me some information. Don’t you think it’s cool? That we’re connected, and I’ll meet you someday. The first soulmate mark I’ve gotten was on my birthday, while racing a dolphin. Which is today. Now that I think about it, it seems like you would be from Atlantis, with my mother being Atlanna and me being half Atlantean and such.  _

 

He put down his pen, his train of thought halting to a stop. Did that mean he got to visit Atlantis someday? If meeting his soulmate meant visiting Atlantis, that meant…. He’d be there one day! 

 

_ When I visit Atlantis, sooner, hopefully, rather than later, I hope you’re there. I’m sorry again about my mark.  _

 

He signed it off with a little smiley face and a large A at the bottom. Arthur closed his eyes as the moonlight passed over his window. The sound of the waves lightly tickled his ears, bringing him closer, and closer, to sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> Stay tuned for the next chapter, which will come out weekly!
> 
> Find me on my [Tumblr?](https://agent-alexandradanvers.tumblr.com/) See you there!


End file.
